Champagne
by fluorescent-adolescent13
Summary: If Ethan had known what was going to happen to her, he would have never let Alicia leave. He should have just gone with her. They should have been drinking champagne in the park. Now, she was in the ED and it was all his fault.


He watched as she walked out of the department. His eyes had been glued to her until she had disappeared completely beyond the set of doors in front of him. She had been walking away from him. Ethan knew that she hadn't been happy about what he had said. He wasn't surprised. He wasn't happy either. He didn't want to have had to say that to her. He knew that blowing her off for the brother that they had both betrayed wasn't going end well but he didn't have a choice. He had to be there for Cal too. There was nothing more in the world that Ethan wanted more than to forget about his brother and be with Alicia, but worried thoughts of Cal would nag at the back of his head until he made things right. If he could make things right. He wasn't entire sure it wasn't a lost cause.

Ethan had wanted to go. He did. A bottle of champagne and an adventure with a beautiful woman was more than he could have hoped for after a Saturday evening tiptoeing around vomit in the ED. He had never had a lot of opportunity for spontaneity when he was younger. He had always been too busy with his head in books while Cal fulfilled both of their fair shares of adrenaline rushes. Ethan just couldn't do it when he knew that his brother was self destructing. Especially when he was the one that was too blame. When _they_ were largely to blame.

It didn't make Ethan feel any less guilty about his conversation with Alicia. He had watched as her shoulders has slumped and as the sparkle in her eyes had dissolved into a hazy glaze, and he had done nothing to stop it from happening.

"I thought that your shift had finished?" Elle's voice rung out from behind him. It commanded his attention and brought him back to reality, the sudden realisation dawning on him that he had been standing there staring into space for far too long. The older doctor's words echoes Alicia's from minutes earlier. They did nothing but make Ethan feel worse about it all. He was used to sticking his neck out for his brother but for once he wanted to feel like the winner. He just wanted for things to go right - and to stay right. "I'd be running out of here if I were you."

Ethan let out a small chuckle, pushing his glasses back up his nose as he thought of how best to reply. It hadn't been as genuine as he had intended on it coming out but the older doctor didn't seem to notice much. Her smile was warm and comforting. "I think I'm going to stick around here for a little while longer. You know how busy this place gets at this time of night."

"That's exactly why I would be running," Elle joked. Her eyes were tired and heavy. Ethan was sure that his would be much the same. If they weren't now then they would be soon. "I'm not complaining though. We can use all of the hands that we can get." Ethan wasn't exactly thrilled at the prospect of dealing with the usual offenders of the weekend, but it gave him something to do and he knew that he would be kept busy. It was a small price to pay. "I just thought that you might have had other plans for the rest of the night."

Nothing was official with Alicia. Not really. Ethan had worn his heart on his sleeve ever since she had come back to Holby but things with Cal were still fresh and he didn't want to be the one that pressured her into any kind of commitment. He knew exactly what Elle had been insinuating though even if she hadn't come straight out with it. They hadn't gone public with whatever they were, but it seemed like everyone in the ED seemed to know about the feelings that he had for the blonde doctor. Some of them had seemed to know before he had even accepted it himself. Ethan couldn't blame Dr. Gardner for jumping to the conclusion. If he hadn't been so caught up with his brother then perhaps she would have been right.

He replied quickly, making sure that the conversation ended before she had a chance to pry any more. "Actually, if you'd excuse me I have a phone call to make." Ethan started to walk away from her before the final syllable of his sentence had even fallen off of his tongue. It hadn't been a complete lie. He had every intention of trying to call Cal again. They had exchanged a few brief texts throughout the day but his brother had stopped replying. It seemed as though he was avoiding Ethan's phone calls too. It didn't mean that he was going to stop though. Not until he was sure that the older doctor was okay.

Ethan had to stop himself from looking back to Elle. It wasn't often that he was so abrupt. Especially not to her. He almost wanted to turn around and apologise, but he stopped himself from doing that too. He just hoped that the older doctor would be too distracted by the hustle and bustle that was surrounding them to think much of it. She probably thought that he was going to call Alicia, he thought. Like he had changed his mind just because of their short conversation and true love had prevailed. Ethan wished that was the case.

He let out a deep breath as he reached the entrance of the ED. The air was cold and crisp but it didn't do much to calm his nerves. For a moment he had been tempted to chase after her. There was a part of him that wished that he had. She would be long gone now but if he had been a minute or two earlier then he might have had half a chance. He would have apologised. He would have told her that he was an idiot. He would have kissed and told her to wait while he got changed.

She had probably taken a taxi. There were always some around outside. She could have gone into the pub for a drink instead of going home, but as Ethan looked over at the door he couldn't quite bring himself to go over and find out if Alicia had.

He was just a coward.

Ethan tried to push the thought out of his mind. If he dwelled on it for too long then he would find himself on a downward spiral. He had to focus on Caleb. He was his brother. He was family. At least one of them had to hold it together. But he loved Alicia.

He slumped down onto the bench, pulling out his cell phone and swiping across the screen. He wished that he had grabbed a hoodie or something before he had come out. He could already feel the cold nipping at his bare skin but he didn't care. He scrolled down his list of contacts until he reached his brother's name and brought the device to his ear.

The ringing seemed to go on for hours.

* * *

Alicia wasn't sure what she was supposed to think. She had been so ready to give it all up for Ethan. She had been so ready to break his brother's heart. Things with Cal had never exactly been smooth sailing but she had found some sense of security with him, and she had ruined it. She had put her heart on the line just for Ethan to go and abandon her. She had risked it all just to watch him go and pick up the pieces that he had encouraged her to shatter in the first place. It didn't matter. There was nothing that she could do about it now.

She should have known better. Her father had always joked that she left a trail of broken hearts behind her wherever she went. She should have known that it was going to come back around to bite her eventually. Alicia felt so stupid. She was never going to get her happy ending. She wasn't sure why she thought it was all going to work out. She didn't deserve it. It didn't make the truth any easier for her to swallow.

She ruined everything. Alicia wanted to laugh at herself. Like mother, like daughter.

The blonde knew that she barely had the right to be upset at Cal for what he had done. That was if she had any right at all. Seeing him kissing another girl at the wedding reception had made her so angry, but she knew that she was just as bad. It was ironic. Everyone had warned her about Cal. They had warned her about what he was like. The only thing that she hadn't counted on what her being the one to cheat on him first. She wasn't any better than him.

Alicia took another swig from the bottle. It hadn't taken her long at all to crack it open. At least without having Ethan with her there was more more for her to drink herself. She had never really like champagne though. It had always been all or nothing with her. It was either too much tequila and a morning with her head in the toilet or a quiet night in with a bottle of wine. Her mind drifted back to the night that she had invited Ethan back for a glass of wine. She hadn't even made it to the bathroom then. Alicia would settle for the champagne.

The bottle was half empty already. She had barely felt the effects of it. None of the effects that she had been hoping for anyway. All that Alicia wanted was for her head to be swirling and her thoughts to fly away from her completely. She wanted to forget that any of it had ever happened. She wanted to forget all about the brothers that her life seemed to revolve around recently.

She tucked the champagne between her legs and perched her chin on top of the cold glass neck, wrapping her arms tightly around her body in an attempt to keep any of the heat that her jacket was desperately trying to trap. Drinking in the park with Ethan had sounded like a fun idea in her head at the time but now all that she could think about was the cold. Alicia snorted. If he had been there with her then she knew that they would have gotten around to some things that would have kept them both warm. She rolled her eyes at the thought. It was stupid that she had even come to the park alone. She should have just gone home when she had the chance though the prospect of having to talk to the guys was enough to put anyone off. It was unlikely that they wouldn't be out somewhere painting the town red anyway. She could have gone out too. The alcohol was more than tempting.

Alicia reached into her pocket, fumbling for a moment or two before pulling out her Nokia. She sat up straight again and brought the bottle to her lips with her free hand. The liquid was lukewarm but she welcomed it like an old friend. She looked down to her phone. The screen was bright and harsh on her eyes. No missed calls. She wasn't surprised.

Her lockscreen taunted her. It was a selfie with some of the other guys from the ED. It just so happened that she was standing between the root of all of her problems. Cal on her right and Ethan on her left. Alicia looked away. She didn't need the reminder. The blonde hadn't realised just how dark it had gotten and it was only coming up to half past nine.

The sound of laughter behind her brought her back to reality. It reminded her very suddenly that she wasn't alone. That the world didn't revolve around Alicia Munroe and her issues. Though, with it came a crushing feeling in her chest as she realised the position that she was in. She was tipsy and alone in a public park in Holby on a Saturday night. It wasn't her smartest move. Even her somewhat inebriated brain could tell that much. Truthfully she hadn't been making a lot of good decisions recently. The doctor took one last drink before pushing herself up onto her feet. Her legs were unsteady. She hadn't thought she would have been so shaky, but she tried her best to put one foot in front of the other. Maybe the champagne was starting to hit her after all.

"Oi, oi," a voice from the group called. It pierced through the laughter of the others, making itself clear that it was directed at Alicia alone. It wasn't like there was anyone else there anyway. At least as far as she was aware.

Alicia tried her best to ignore them and just walk away. On any other day she would have thought of some sarky quip to call back at them but her brain didn't seem to want to cooperate with her mouth. The attention didn't feel all bad. Alicia couldn't stop herself from smirking. She knew that it was just her drunk self starting to poke through. It made her feel like her old self. The version of herself that used to have a lot more fun. It was just a group of lads out having a good time and a bit of banter. A few months ago she would have been drinking with guys like that.

She knew that the alarm bells should have been ringing in her ears.

"C'mon love. Don't walk away now," another said. "Come and have a bit of fun with us."

Alicia kept walking on. Just because she had been around guys like that before didn't mean that she wanted to stop for them again. She knew that something wasn't right. She could feel it, but she pushed the thought to the back of her mind and brought the bottle to her lips again as she felt the glass slipping out of her grasp. Alicia squeezed her fingers tighter around the neck, letting the fizzing liquid slip effortlessly down her throat.

"You wish," the blonde called back to them. Her voice was loud and clear, but it wasn't one that she recognised.

The doctor glanced back to the group for barely a second. There were only three of them but they were growing closer and closer to her with each moment that passed, just as the alarm bells were growing louder and louder in her ears. One of them said something again but Alicia couldn't quite make out what it was. She stumbled slightly and her eyes shot down to her feet, searching the ground for something that she might have tripped over. It took a second for her to realise that it had been a push on her back that had almost made her fall down.

"Watch your step there."

Alicia felt his breath skim over the back of her neck. It was warm in comparison to the air that surrounded them, but all it did was make her stomach turn. His hands rested themselves on her waist, his fingers clutching painfully at her hips, and she wanted to be sick. The blonde twisted herself around quickly in an attempt to wriggle away from his hold. She pushed her hands against his chest but he only grabbed her tighter.

She couldn't see the other guys but she could hear them. "Someone likes it rough."

"Get off," Alicia shouted. She brought a hand up to the stranger's face and pushed harder. Her vision was blurry but she could make out a few red lines from where her nails had scratched his cheek.

"Shit," he cried, giving her a hard shove. "We were only having a laugh."

Her body slammed against the ground. There was a pain radiating in her shoulder and down her arm, unlike anything that she had felt before, but she tried her best to breath through it. The side of her head stung from where it had made contact with the ground and there was a ringing in her ears that only grew stronger with each second. It was like Alicia could feel the impact vibrate throughout her entire body. The grass underneath her might have been long and damp but it felt as solid as concrete when she had fallen.

Alicia tried to focus on the sky above her, forcing down the bile that was rising in her throat. Her head was spinning even more than it had been before. She could see stars but most of them were obscured by blurs of grey. She didn't mind that it wasn't the prettiest. She just wanted the feeling in the pit of her stomach to go away. Rolling onto her uninjured side, Alicia almost forgot for a second that she wasn't alone. It was only when she was forced onto her back again and she felt a piercing sensation attacking her shoulder that she was brought back to reality.

His knee dug into her upper thigh and she groaned, her gaze shooting downwards. Alicia couldn't make out much of his face. He was a mess of brown hair and a gritted teeth. "It's not nice to hit people."

"Maybe we should teach her a lesson."

He reached for one of her arms, wrapping his fingers around her wrist unapologetically. She grimaced again at the feeling, the strangled cry that she had been holding in finally escaping past her lips. Her shoulder was definitely dislocated. Her other hand was still cradling his cheek but in less that a moment, she blinked, and it was clutching her own jaw instead. He lowered his face down towards hers, his lips hovering an inch away from her ear. She could smell the alcohol a mile away. "Maybe we should."

It was like her mouth wouldn't work. Like her brain had forgotten entirely how to get the words from one place from another. Her brain couldn't get them out past her throat. They got all caught up in a horrible jumbled mess just when she needed them most. "Stop." Alicia managed to push the four letters into the night. Her head fell to the side, locking onto the bottle of champagne that had been discarded next to her when she had been shoved the ground. There was a few drops left in it. She had downed most of it and the rest had been soaked up into the soil. It wasn't important though. She felt sober now.

Alicia slowly moved her free arm across the grass while his gaze was focused on her face. The second that he glanced around to his friends, she didn't hesitate to take her chance. Her hand grasped the neck of the bottle and for a moment all she could feel was a strange sense of deja vu. She brought it over her body with as much strength as she could muster, wincing at the way that the glass made contact with the stranger's head and shattered immediately. Alicia had never been one for physical violence but she didn't have a choice. Nobody messed with a Geordie.

He fell to the side immediately. His eyes fell closed as a few lines of blood trickled over his face, merging with the marks that Alicia had made earlier.

"Danny!" one of the guys shouted. She could hear his voice coming closer and closer to her as he moved over to his friend, falling to his knees beside the both of them. "Mate, can you hear me?"

Alicia's eyes drifted down. Her head was reeling and her whole body was in agony. She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly without realising how it was coming out as a quiet whimper. There was a stinging at the back of her head that was piercing through her thoughts, but it was interrupted by a wave of relief as the weight on her legs was pulled off. She hadn't wanted to kill anyone. She was just trying to defend herself. As soon as the blonde saw his chest rise up and back down again, she knew that she had to get away from them as quickly as she could.

"We have to phone an ambulance," the third stranger spoke for the first time. "He's bleeding pretty bad."

"How are we supposed to explain this," the other voice hissed.

There was a pause. "We'll call 999 and get out of here."

"We can't just leave him here. We can't."

Alicia watched them engross themselves in a panic before pushing herself up with both hands. She regretted it immediately. The pain shot through her entire limb and she brought her right arm in close to her chest, letting out a cry through gritted teeth at the sensation.

"Hey! You're not going anywhere." A firm hand pushed her back to the ground, forcing her flat on her back again and face to face with a man who couldn't have been more than a few years younger than she was. There was fear behind his eyes. She knew that he must have seen it in hers too. He held her gaze for a few seconds before he snapped out of it, and turned back to his friend. "If she goes to the police...we're done."

"Then get rid of her."

He glanced back to her. The look was still in her eyes. "Mate..."

There was another pause. "Fine. I'll do it."

* * *

"Ethan," David said. His voice was quiet in comparison to the volume of the ED but it still managed to drag the younger man's attention away from the chart that his eyes had been glued to.

"Just a second," Ethan replied. He had always been good at zoning out when the chaos began to affect his concentration. Though, he had been trying his best to distract himself ever since he had heard the beep of Cal's voicemail. Ethan hadn't left any messages for his older brother. There was a nagging voice in the back of his head that told him he should have, but he knew better than anyone that if Cal didn't want to talk to him then there wasn't much that could be said that would change things. Ethan couldn't stop himself from sending one last text before locking his phone in his locker and diving back into work.

"They need you in cubicles."

The doctor nodded. "I'll be there in a second."

"No. Um," the nurse stuttered for a moment. "I think something's happened."

Ethan frowned. Of course something would have happened. Why else would someone be waiting in cubicles for medical attention? He turned to the older man but the expression on his face was enough to trap the words in his throat. The image of Alicia on a hospital bed was the first thought that flooded into his mind. Something had happened to her. Something had happened to Alicia and it was all his fault. She would be okay if he had just gone out with her when she had asked him. He should have said yes to champagne. Ethan flipped the cover of the chart over, ignoring it as it fell to the ground. He didn't care.

His strides were long and hasty, his eyes scanning the room as he moved. There was only one set of blue curtains that were closed and Ethan had made a beeline for them without saying another word to David. He grabbed the corner of them, ready to pull the curtains off the pole completely, but he stopped himself before he could. He didn't want to give anyone a fright. He didn't even know what was waiting for him on the other side. It couldn't be that bad if she were in cubicles. Ethan let out a long slow breath and tugged them across.

"Hey bro."

Ethan wasn't sure if he had ever felt relief like it in all his days. The smirk that Cal had given him was enough to make his blood boil, but as his eyes locked the blood that was dripping down his brother's chin he couldn't be angry. He was just glad that he was okay. It explained the lack of communication. Ethan couldn't help but wonder if he should have texted Alicia too. Even if she would have just ignored it.

"Caleb."

"Nibbles doesn't look very happy."

Ethan ignored the comment, taking a small step closer to his older brother and tilting his head back slightly. By the looks of things he had been pissing more people than just him off. The smell of alcohol made the younger doctor feel queasy but he pushed past it. Ethan could only imagine what Cal had been getting up to the past few nights.

"What did you do?"

"Two rounds of tequila while I waited on the paramedic," Cal smirked again. "It might have been three, actually."

"No, I mean," Ethan started. It barely took a moment for him to click that his brother was just toying with him. "How did you get the broken nose?"

Cal paused, running his tongue over his bottom lip and wiping some of the blood away. His shirt was stained red. It was a shame really. It was one of his favourites. "I tried it on with a girl."

"She did that?"

"No," Cal snorted. "Let's just say that her boyfriend wasn't too happy about it when he saw us."

Ethan wasn't surprised in the slightest. "Wouldn't be the first time that's happened."

"I guess we've both had our fair share of taken women, Nibbles."

"What?" Ethan replied. He had been searching for a pair of rubber gloves and his brother's words had slipped in one ear and straight out the other.

Cal opened his mouth to reply but stopped himself. Now probably wasn't the best time for conflict. He slapped on another smile. He hadn't had that much to drink but he hoped that his brother brushed it off as drunk rambling. "Nothing."

"It definitely looks painful," Ethan continued, pressing down lightly on Cal's nose. The older doctor winced slightly and recoiled. It definitely was. "I don't think that it's actually broken. The bleeding has stopped anyway. You mentioned the paramedics earlier. I figured that you'd brought yourself in. Were you knocked out?"

"Nope," he lied. He didn't want to be stuck here any longer than he had to be. "Just a precaution. Nobody wanted a lawsuit."

Ethan frowned. "Neither do I. I think I should give you a quick exam to be on the safe side."

"It's fine," Cal interjected. "I just want to get out of here."

He knew that there was no point in arguing about it. "Go home and get some ice on it. Take some paracetamol in the morning if you feel you need them, though I think you'll be needing them anyway. It's not just your black eyes you'll be nursing." Cal nodded along with his brother's words, grabbing his jacket off the bed beside him and standing up with a wobble.

Ethan gave him a tight smile. "I'll walk you out."

"I'll see you at home then, little brother?"

Ethan nodded. "You'll be out for the count by the time I get back, but I'll see you in the morning."

"Good."

"Don't do anything stupid, Cal." Ethan turned to look at his brother as they reached the reception desk. It wouldn't surprise him if Cal wasn't in bed when he got home. He knew what he was like. "Please."

"Me?" Cal feigned shock, but it faded quickly. As much as it didn't seem so, he didn't like seeing his brother so worried for him. "Promise."

"Good." Ethan smiled slightly.

Cal swung his arm over the younger doctor's shoulders, pulling him in closer. "Catch you later, Nibbles."

Ethan didn't have a chance to reply. They were pushed aside as a gurney was pushed through the entrance of the department. The last thing that either of them expected was to hear what they were about to.

"Alicia Munroe, 26. GSC 13. Blood pressure..." Ethan couldn't listen as Ian continued on, but there were a few words that stood out more than the others. "...she was attacked in a park not too far from here."


End file.
